Spring winding machine



Dec, 7,-1948. A. BENJAMIN ,5

SPRING WINDING MACHINE v Filed Jan. 5, 1946 '2 Shegfs-Sheet 1 Jim/$110275 Azzzz/v Zia/JAM Dec. 7, 1948. BENJAMIN 2,455,549

, SPRINGWINDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1945 2 sheets sheet 2 Jvvzzvrmz ALLEN fiavJAM/N ED iST-TATES PATENT OFFICE SPltINGfiWINDINGM-AGHINE plasma, was. 111. App icauonsanoary 5, 1946;.SerlglPNo.639,195

improvementsin the 5 ioqoiaim. (orisa-oo Heretoforerewrist brandszof this general charaeter havebeen fashioned from :a plurality: of" interconnected links "usually-associated! onew'with the other in a lazyetons organization. Suchstrum toms invariably finvolve costly manufacturin prooesseswand further, arenot entirely: satisfactory in; usebecaiise: of thezlikelihood. of thevlink s ructure coming apart. should the various portions'thereoi become worn car-broken. Theiappw tatusvof the presentinvention is i particularly designedito provideanrcndloss one: piece expansible coiled spring ri'bbon inoa simple and eiiicient manner, it theneby 5 produeingiati low cost: a bracelet or. 5 wrist band suitable for all; of; the uses t for which the hereinabove described linkstruetures aroused... 5 5

Itis. therefore, an Qbjcctot-tho pressnt invention to provide an aiiimratus for producing expansible, wrist bandsiromfla .singlewstnand of shape retaining material such Gas. steel. wire; or thelike, 55 55 Anothembitct oithainventionis toprovide an improved. method Wherebyastrandof shanare: taming. material. may..beUeasflyandonicxmrash: ioned. into an expahsible coiledisprins. ribbon.

when astrand .of. stifl shape-retainin material. is, wound upon amandrel, tightlrto form a oil, the; inherent. resiliency in the strand. causes the coils ,to spring. back whenthaprsssur eimsans is. removed. It therefore. another .Qbitstlof the, present inven iont providean. apparatus for winding a strand into a coil whioh mbodies means to set thestrand.iorminaeachcoil ahcad oitthe normal ..spring5-back position softhatthe 4 peripheries voi the coils lie-in a-commonplane... c:

It is meierred that. a.coiledexpansibleilatribboooi the. kind. mentioned; hereinahovcl and use ful as a wristband. be. fashioned. in ummer that the. opposodiaces thereotbe .coticayedslighti i Figwl. is i an enlarged; fragmentary elevational lathroughoot itsalen th to minimise the s irface contact-opens the .wrist. of. the wearer: and further to. enhance itsgenoral. appearance, It is,;=.therefore, another object of. 5 the present invention to provide a methodw 0t. and apparatusioii shaping the. opposedlaces oi the expansible ribbon so as 5 to provide-the desirable. concavefates thereon.

Another obj ect. of i the present invention 1 is. i to providetan apparatus of the kind -rofeti tdvto "hcizeini whichois not cam s te: toomanutaeture. so iialiv heavywplate Hlfflrmly'se'cured to a base l2 muse.

Other "and furtherobj ects of the present inventionz-wiil be: apparent from thefollowing descripti-on and: claims and are illustrated in the accompanying.drawingswwhich illustrate a preferred cmhodiment'anddzhecprinciple thereof and which is: considered to be ths: best mode contemplated iorcapplying'that principle, Other embodiments ofthe invention embodying the same or.equivalent principle may be. used and structural changes. may be made; as desired by those skilled inwthe. art withoutdepartingi from the spirit of the invention anditheqpurview .of the "appended claims; V

Inthe drawings: 5 a

:Fig.:1: is a front elevational View of the apparatiis showing the partsiiri one position ofits operation cycle.

lliizihl'Aisarvertical: side elevational view of thesettinaoam showing a portion of thearbor associatcd therewith. i

* 'i i 2v5is1a 01 plan viewof theapparatus.

Fig. 3 18.8. .perspeotivaviewota fragment of coiled; expansible" ribbon of the kind fashioned on the present apparatus.

Fig-4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail elevational. view of the arbor-and its associated ele- 111811115; illustrated in a: position substantially like that ShO-WIIiIk Fig.1. 5

Fig.. 5 is afragmentary radial sectional view through theperiphery ofthe feed wheel. 5 5

5 Fight-is-a-.fragmentary detail radial sectiona View through theperiphery of thesett ing cam.

view-i similar. to 5 Fig. 4,. but: showing the arbor in a position assumed prior to being rotated intothe position shownin-Fig. 4. r

,FigmB is a horizontalsectional View taken substantially; ,onJine .8--85-. ofi- Fig. view i similar to s Fig. '7 but showing the arbor rotatedvapproximately out of the position inc-which it is shown in Fig: 7

Fig. lil-isca horizontal sectional view taken: substantially-chime Ill-40: oi Fig. 9.

w-Fig. 1L1 tispa View similarto Fig. 9 but showing gtheaarbor advanced approximately :1115 beyond perhaps best shown in Fig. 4 and it includes'a l circular body portion I6 having a pair of diamete rically aligned eccentric pins I I and I3 projecting outwardly in the same direction from one face thereof. The pins I1 and I 8 are spaced equal distances from the axial center of the body I6 so that a ribbon would be objectionable unless means is provided to cooperate with the arbor to insure tight uniform winding of the strand therearound, without spring-back, it being evident that the inherent stiffness of the wire strand would be such as to cause the longitudinal reaches of the elongated loops to bow outwardly midway between the pins ll' and I8, as well as to cause the loops leaving the arbor to spring back irregular distancs sufliciently to result in an irregular surface in the finished ribbon. Accordingly, means when the body I8 is rotated about its axisjthe pins I! and I8 will describe a concentric about said axis.

The end of the stud shaft I4 extending beyond the back face of the plate II has, firmly secured thereon, a drive wheel I9 which in the present instance may comprise a pulley adapted to have a driven connection as by means of a belt or the like with a suitable source of power, not shown. It should be evident that when the power source is in operation, the pulley I9 is driven at a constant rate of speed so as to impart rotation at a uniform rate of speed to the arbor I 5.

The eccentric pins 11 and I8 constituting a part of the arbor I5 provide in effect a diametrically elongated mandrel around which a strand of shape-retaining material, such as steel wire, suitably tempered, is adapted to be continuously wound so as to fashion a relativelywide substantially flat coiled expansible ribbon which, when out into desired lengths, is utilized for fashioning wrist bands and bracelets of the kind referred to hereinbefore. The wire strand, indicated at 2i, is fed to the apparatus through a tension member 22 preferably carried adjacent the upper edge of the plate I I and which may consist of'a' bracket 23 firmly secured to said plate having anadjus'table block 24 therein carried on the end of an adjusting screw 25 which maybe manipulated readily to increase or decrease the tension on the wire strand 2| which is guided between the block 24 and member 23, as shown.- The tensioned wire strand 2i is guided over a bending roll 26 mounted for free rotation upon a stud screw 21 firmly secured to the plate II, from where it is carried downwardly for engagement with the 'arbor' I5.

The bending roll 26 is best illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14 and it is provided with'apripheral groove 26a of a width greater than the diameter of the strand 2| which is fed into the groove at'the'upper periphery thereof and then carried around said roll, as shown, so that the strand portion leading off of said roll partially underlies "a portionof the previously laid strand portion' before being led therefrom. This limited overlapping of the strand circle portions in the peripheral groove tends to provide J;

rolling frictional resistance to feeding of the strand whereby the strand is maintained'under a constant uniform tension at all times during machine operation.

Upon initiating a windingoperation, the end of the wire strand leading from the bending roll 26 is attached, as by being wrapped partially around or otherwise connected to one of the pins H or I8, so that when the arbor is rotated the wire is carried successively around a pair of pins for use as a wrist band or the like because of its unattractive flat appearance; and further, such is provided in the form of tensioning and setting elements to coact with the arbor to maintain the wire strand and selected loops under sufficient tension at all times to prevent outward bowing of the longitudinal reaches of said loops and further, to set the completed loops so that the finished ribbon has a smooth surface.

One of such tensioning elements is provided in the form of-a feed roller or former 28 which is mounted for free rotation upon a stud 29 carried on the upper end of one arm 3I constituting a part of a bell-crank 32. The bell-crank 32 is pivoted as by a stud screw 33 to the front face of the vertical plate II. The other arm 34 of the bell-crank 32 has a slotted aperture 35 adjacent its free end, through which a guide rod 36 freely extends. The rod 36 preferably is threaded on its lowermost end to receive an adjusting nut 31 and said rod extends upwardly through a horizontally disposed portion 38 of an arm 39 which may be formed integral with the vertical plate II. The uppermost end of the rod 36 also preferably is threaded to receive a stop nut 4 I. A tension spring I2is'i'ltted around the rod 36 during the assembly of'said rod, which spring normally tends to urge the arm 34 of the bell-crank 32 downwardly so as to rock the bell-crank in a clock-wise direction about its pivot 33 to thereby maintain the feed roller 28 tightly against the eccentric pins I1 and I8 or, more properly, against 'any wire strand interposed between said roller and said pins. The nuts 31 and 4|, or other suitable means, on the ends of the rod 36 hold the rod in place and an adjustable stop 40 carried on the stationary plate I I provides means whereby the extreme limits of clockwise rotation of the bell-crank 32 may be varied to suit various requirements of use. 7

The feed roller 28 is of a width substantially equal to twice the diameter of the wire strand 2| and, as is best shown in Fig.5, it is formed on its periphery with spaced apart shallow pe- .ripheral grooves 43 and 44, which grooves are formed on aradius equal to the radius of the wire strand 2 I. The feed roller 28 is so positioned with relation to the arbor I5 that its rearmost face lies in a plane slightly in advance of the plane of the front'face of the arbor body I 6. The wirestrand 2| being fed to the arbor is received in and guided by the peripheral groove 43 so that said wire is fed to the arbor I5 in close proximity to the front face of the arbor body I6. 1

Asetting cam 45 also is provided to coact with the arbor I5. This setting cam 45 is. of substantially the same diameter as the feed roller 28 and it is carried on a stud 46 projecting rearwardly from the upper end of an arm 41 which is 7 i8 is being urged forward along said 'pinby the stripper cam in the same manner as the strand portion 2 is was advanced duringthe formation of the initial loop. In this manner the successively formed elongated loops are progressively advanced along and finally off of the pins I! and [8 as said pins are carried through the region of the stripper cam 58 and each loop is set with relation to preceding and following loops so that the finished ribbon has a uniformly flat surface entirely devoid of any irregularities which might result from insufficient orexcessive springback in any one or more of the loops.

The construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in detail hereinabove contemplates the use of wire stock which may be entirely devoid of any finish'of a kind that would lend itself to free substantially frictionless sliding on the pins I1 and [8 during arbor rotation. It is because such wire strands areincapable of being shifted, after having been wound tightly upon the arbor, that the stripper cam '58 is required. In instances where the-endless expansible ribbon is fashioned from'wire stock such as, for example, wire having a coating of lead or the like thereon, the use of the stripper cam may be eliminated. Such coated wire is readily capable of sliding freely along the pins I1 and I8 in response to force applied on one side thereof aswhen the lead-in strand portion is -being laid into position on the eccentric pins rearwardly of the wound strand. r

It is submitted that the exemplary form of the invention shown in the accompanying drawlugs and described in detail hereinabove is capable of embodying various other modifications in its detail construction and that 'such variations and modifications maybe adopted therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims;

I claim: I

1. In an apparatus for winding a substantially flat coil .ribbon having concave faces;- in combL nation, a rotatable arbor including spaced eccentrics about both of whichua. shape-retaining strand. is adapted to be progressively'wound to produce elongatedloops, and yieldable pressure applying means operatively associated with said rotatable arbor and being in continuous engagement with the loops to deformthereaches of said loops extending between the eccentrics inwardly. ,2. In an apparatus for winding a stiff strand into a rib-bon-like coil spring Which-includes a mandrel around which the strandis woundto fashion elongated loops, a yi'eldably mounted cam disposed at an angle to the axis of the mandrel and associated with said mandrel and positioned adjacent the free end thereof for progressively advancing engaged portions of the loops towards the free end of said mandrel and finally urge the advanced portion off of said mandrel, said cam being effective to press the disengaged portion beyond the normal spring-back point of the strand.

.3. An apparatus adapted for the manufacture of an expansible ribbon from a shape-retaining strand comprising, in combination, a rotatable arbor having eccentric strand engaging elements, a. feed wheel disposed on one side of the arbor axis to guide the strand over said elements during arbor rotation, a setting camon the opposite side of said arbor axis to receive and-guide strand portions wound uponzsaid arbor, independent mountings for said wheeland cam .to'enablethem to move towards and away from the arbor, and

meanstensioning said mountings to urge them towards the'arborso that the wheel and can: maintain rolling contact withthe strand thereon at all times, at least said wheelbeing of sucha diameter that a peripheral segment thereof substantially bridges the space between the arbor elements when said elements are in vertical alignment so as to displace the strand inwardly on an arc corresponding to the arc of the peripheralsegment. 4. An apparatus adapted for the-manufacture of an expansible' ribbon from a shape-retaining strand comprisingjin combination, a rotatable arbor having spaced strand engaging elements, a feed wheel disposed on one side of the arbor axis'to guide the strand over said elements during arbor rotation, a setting wheel on the opposite side of said arbor axis to receive and 'guide' strand portions-wound upon said arbor, independent mountings for said wheel and cam to enable'the wheel and cam to move towards and away from the arbor, meanstensioning said mountings'to urge them towards the arbor so that 'the'wheel and cam maintain rolling contact with related str'and'portions at all times, said wheel being of such diameter that a peripheral segment thereof substantially bridges the gap between the arbor elements when said elements "are invertical alignment so as to displace the'strand'portion bridging said gap inwardly on'an are corresponding to the arc of the peripheral'segment, and said setting cam being effective to advance the-wound strand off of the arbor and set it ahead of the spring-backpoint, I

5. In an apparatus for winding a wire strand into a ribbon-like coil, an elongated mandrel rotatable about an axis midway between its ends, a feed wheel on one side of said mandrel to guide the wire strand onto said mandrel during rotation, a yieldable mounting for said feed wheel includingmeans to urge the wheel towards the mandrel at all times so as to press the wire strand tightlyfthereagainst, a setting cam on the other side of the mandrel, and a yieldable mounting for said'settin'g cam including means to urge the said cam towards the mandrel to hold and guide a wound'strand portion engaged thereby into a position to free it from said mandrel.

6. In an apparatus for winding a wire strand into a ribbon-like coil, an elongated arbor rotatable about an axis midway between its ends, a feed wheel on one side ofthe arbor to guide the wire strand onto saidarborduring' rotation, a yieldable mounting for saidfeed wheel including means to urge the wheel'towards the arbor at'all times so as to press the wire strand tightly thereagainst, a setting cam on the other side of the arbor, a yieldable mounting for the setting cam including means to urge said cam towardssaid arbor to hold the wound wire strand against the arbor, and a stripper associated with the arbor arranged in the path of a strand wound thereon 9 lesser height than itsother side wall to enable said one strand to advance into said groove.

8. The herein described method of making a substantially flat expansible ribbon which consists in winding a strand of stiff material around strand engaging elements spaced one on each side of the axis of a rotatable arbor while pressure from an external source is continuously maintained against said strand to hold it to said elements and to bow the reaches of the strand between said elements inwardly thus producing a ribbon having substantially concaved surfaces.

9. In an apparatus for windin a wire strand into a ribbon-like coil, a rotatable arbor includin a body having pins extending from one face thereof to form a mandrel, a feed wheel on one side of said mandrel to guide the wire strand onto said mandrel during rotation, means to urge the Wheel toward the mandrel at all times so as to press the wire strand tightly thereagainst, a setting cam on the other side of the mandrel, and means to urge the said cam toward the mandrel to hold and guide awound. strand portion engaged thereby into a position to free it from said mandrel.

10. In an apparatus for winding a wire strand into a ribbon-like coil, a rotatable arbor including a body having pins extending from one face thereof to form a mandrel, a feed wheel on one 10 side of said mandrel to guide the wire strand onto said mandrel during rotation, means to urge the wheel toward the mandrel at all times so as to press the wire strand tightly thereagainst, a

setting cam on the other side of the mandrel,

means to urge the said cam toward the mandrel to hold and guide a wound strand portion en-, gaged thereby into a position to free it from said mandrel, and set it ahead of its spring-back point.

ALLEN BENJAMIN.

REFERENCES CITED Ihe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

